


Living Your Best Life

by 74days



Series: Meet-Cute AU's [44]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Artificial Intelligence, M/M, Non-Human Humanoid Society, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 12:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5005087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/74days/pseuds/74days
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky Barnes isn't lonely. He's not. But the new UI 'AmeriCap' has made him realise just how much he depends on it... when it stops working.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Living Your Best Life

** Defeat Death! **

**_The new range of Stark designed automated suits can download organic memory using ‘JARVIS’ technology. Simply transfer your living consciousness into a top of the line Stark Automan and live forever._ **

* * *

 

Fourteen years after the War of All, Bucky Barnes sat in the mechanics chair and grimaced as he readjusted the pistons for his arm.

“I don’t know why you don’t just transfer over.” He said, shaking his head. There was a soft whirring at the movement, not noticeable unless you were listening for it. The older models tended to be a little louder, and Nix didn’t even have a synthoskin layer, just walked around showing off his chasses, which had a customised paint job. “I can get you a nice deal on a MarkThree, got great mobility on those, or even a 4.2 – I know a guy who knows a guy, if you know what I mean.”

“I’m okay, Nix.” Bucky managed, although he knew in a few years he was going to have to go through the hell of getting a new prosthetic. Since it was always going to be easier to transfer into an Automan than try to fix any issues with the fragile human body, the development of replacement limbs had declined into almost nothing. And the War had destroyed most of the production facilities anyway. Only the giant conglomerates had survived, and they cared more about profits and being seen as the ‘best’ rather than the squishy humans that were left behind. His earpiece was silent, Nix refusing to upgrade his shop with auto-play music.

“Yeah, well, you know where to come.” Nix grunted. Sometimes his voice box malfunctioned, resulting in him talking Spanish for a bit before he could knock it back. Bucky didn’t mind, he was one of the only Mechanics that would work on his arm. “We could get rid of this.” He said, tapping on the Red Star logo on the prosthetic. “Get you something cool. Like an eagle, or a naked chick. No one would know about the war.”

“Thanks, Nix, you’re a good guy.”

“I used to be squishy too, you know.” Nix said, tapping the metal of his skull. “I know what it was like.”

* * *

 

Bucky lived in one of the refugee buildings – thrown up after the rest of Brooklyn was raised to the ground by the War. Almost 40 megatowers, reaching so high that the poor assholes at the top could look out over the smog and see actual sunlight. Bucky wondered if the view was worth the elevators that never seemed to work. Probably not. New York had been completely totalled too – but they had the money to rebuild, and the city was a gleaming tribute to victory, open greenspace and everything glass and chrome, fluid and graceful and everything Bucky always thought the future would be like. The Automen in the city were almost impossible to tell from Human – nothing like Nix in his grotty little shop, tucked down a back alley. Synthskin and real hair, they could even eat and piss and fuck like real people… except not anything like real people. They could be built to specifications, sex bots and desk workers and athletes – only Stark had managed a good all-rounder – “The PepperBot, designed for living your best life.”

Bucky loved the City. He loved that it was as though the world decided after the War, to keep its promises to build a better world for everyone. Eventually the rebuilding would hit Brooklyn and Bucky’s tower would be taken down too, and new buildings would go up in its place, just like they did in England, where the re-work stretched all the way from London to Milton Keynes, almost half the country rebuilt in stages.

As he walked, he tugged at the sleeve covering his arm, hiding his shoulder. Although the War was generally considered over, showing the Red Star carved into his arm was asking for trouble, and he didn’t wanna end up in the lower level of the tower washing spit off his clothes again.

“The greatest AI since JARVIS,” the billboard said as he walked past, “The only AI with the ability to grow and learn – let AmeriCap into your life.”

Normally Buck just walked past the billboards, they were always telling him he needed something more – he needed an upgrade, he needed the latest app, he needed a companion bot. Mostly people were like him, walking past not paying a lot of attention, but this time, there was a small crowd around the vendor slot. He paused, and his earpiece gave a low beep to advise him that it was picking up on the actual product for sale.

“AmeriCap,” the friendly voice said, “Is an AI for your mobile and stationary devices. A new generation of user interface, AmeriCap will not only manage your calendar, social media and events, but can also learn from your taste profile, growing and evolving to keep you living your best life. Potts International.” A pause, a low beep. “Potts International is a subsidiary of Stark Teck, all rights reserved.” Bucky tapped the earpiece for more information. He wasn’t sure why so many people were at the vendor for what seemed to be a general upgrade to the Starkphone. “Further information requested… Americap is the new wave of User Interface,” The smooth voice said, “Completely voice activated with a learning linguistics module that will grow the more it is used, allowing the user to talk normally without inflections on commands and programming. AmeriCap will also learn your likes and habits, keeping track of events near you and offering suggestions based on usage. It is the smallest file size on the market allowing it to be downloaded to all mobile and stationary devices without having to delete existing files, AmeriCap is the way forward.”

Bucky looked at the billboard and blinked a few times, before shrugging. He needed to update his phone anyway, and the AmeriCap add-on cost less than the new HammerTech version.

The Vender popped out the plastic box once Bucky had pressed his card to the scanner, and he rolled his eyes. When the tech had first come out, the packaging was always massive, booklets that weighed more than the actual product. Now though, it was like they were trying to make everything as small as they could. Bucky shrugged, pocketed the box and headed back to his apartment.

* * *

 

The Megatowers in Brooklyn were the older style emergency housing, and the elevators were temperamental at best. By the time he got to his mid-level pod, he was out of breath and sweating. The Megatowers weren’t really made for humans anymore.

The pods were designed to house people for short periods of time, refugee housing that were never meant for prolonged use. That was why the elevators were temperamental, why there were sections of the building that the wind blew through like it was made of Swiss cheese. The biodegradable units were well past their recommended usage, but the rebuilding just hadn’t made it as far as Bucky’s quadrant. People got attached though, you could tell, the painted doors and Welcome mats at the front. Bucky didn’t bother, he’d tried to paint his door once, and came back to find someone had scrawled ‘Red Room’ in the tacky paint, the five point star a reminder that people weren’t as forgiving as the media would have you believe. Even once the methods of the Red Room had been made public, even after the footage of the Chair… Bucky was a traitor. He killed. People didn’t forget that, despite how many times his therapist called him a victim.

His pod was equipped with a bed and a small kitchenette that was a tiny fridge and a hot plate. His bathroom was a composting toilet and a dry shower held behind three panels of frosted plastic, and a sink that worked about half the time he needed it to. The water wasn’t drinkable unless you bought a new filter – the original had already dissolved. Bucky had a small drum kept under the bed with purifying tablets dissolving inside. It tasted weird but it was better than getting the shits with a toilet that didn’t flush.

Technically the room was supposed to be able to hold two people – Bucky had never tried. He found it hard enough to navigate the tight space on his own, never mind add another person. He sat down on his bed and pulled down the shelf that was his desk. The screen of his stationary media folded down too, it was his computer and his TV, hooked up to his phone and (if he had one) a tablet or eReader. It was the most expensive thing he owned, if he didn’t include his arm.

The plastic box that held the upgrade contained a mini-SD and an activation sentence.

“Biscuit lemon people fourteen ties avocado despite skyscraper.” He said, when the microphone symbol appeared on his screen.

 ** _Would you like a male or female interface?_** The writing on the screen said, after a few seconds.

“Uh, male.” He said, after a few seconds to think about it.

**_Would you like a local accent or dialect?_ **

“Brooklyn?”

**_Accepted. Is your name James Buchanan Barnes?_ **

“Yes.”

**_Do you wish to be called James?_ **

“Bucky.”

**_Okay, Bucky. While I am loading up, I’ll ask some questions. Just talk in your normal voice and answer as best you can. Firstly, what do you normally order at a Chinese restaurant?_ **

Bucky blinked. “Is this the normal kind of questions you ask?”

 ** _I just want to know, really._** The words on the screen popped up after a few seconds. **_Not a fan of Chinese?_**

“I like it okay.” Bucky said, leaning back. “Just don’t see what it’s got to do with a UI.”

**_Maybe one day you’ll ask me to order food and I won’t know what you like._ **

“Fair enough. Uh, just boring stuff. Chicken chow mien, spring rolls. Sometimes I get chicken and sweetcorn soup.”

 ** _Sounds nice._** A few images of Chinese food flashed up on the screen, like an image search. **_This looks nice, what is it?_** It was a picture of some shredded beef in a sauce.

“Uh, honey chilli beef I think.”

**_Have you tried this?_ **

“Maybe. I don’t remember. I mostly just get the chicken.”

**_Huh, okay. Not very adventurous, are you?_ **

Bucky blinked. “Am I being sassed by a computer?”

**_I dunno. Are you?_ **

“Funny, punk.”

**_Whatever, jerk. You’re just jealous that I’ve only been around for five seconds and already I got better taste than you._ **

Bucky couldn’t help it, he actually laughed.

**_Laugh it up, Buck. Do you play sports? I like the look of baseball._ **

“I follow some games.” He said, getting more comfortable on his bed. It was… nice.... kinda. To have someone to talk to. He didn’t talk to a lot of people. He worked alone, in a closed off booth, scanning old books into the digital archives. No one to talk to, no one to listen to.

**_Huh. I accessed your medical records._ **

“You can’t do that!” He said, jerking into a sitting position.

**_Why not?_ **

“It’s private!”

**_But I’m not real. It’s kinda my job to look after you, Buck. Should I apologise?_ **

Before Bucky could even respond, more writing flashing up on the screen,

 ** _I won’t talk about it if you don’t like it._** The screen said ** _. I’ll file it under ‘_** _subject is touchy about doctors appointments **’ and leave it at that.**_

“My UI is a total asshole.” Bucky said, leaning back again. “I think I got a defective unit.”

**_Ha. That’s my laugh. It’s enthusiastic and not at all sarcastic. You are so funny. That’s also my genuine tone of amusement._ **

Bucky snorted. “Yeah, sure.”

**_I think I got all I need. I’m just gonna compile for a bit, okay?_ **

“Okay.”

* * *

 

Bucky woke up to his phone ringing. His computer was off, screen black, and he fumbled the phone as he tried to swipe it to answer.

“Morning Starshine.” A voice he didn’t recognise said, bright and cheery.

“Uh?” He managed.

“It’s Steven.”

“Steve?”

“Yeah. I saw your alarm for 6am, and I thought I’d call you instead.”

“Who the fuck is this?” Bucky asked, never a morning person, and certainly not a morning person for an asshole who… what? Stalked his alarm settings?

“Steven. I haven’t thought of a surname yet. AmeriCap sounds…. Weird. I picked my own name though. Do you like it? Steven. _Steve_.”

Bucky blinked, and looked at his phone. Sure enough, no one was actually calling him, but there was a new app in the corner that was a red, white and blue circle. The star in the centre was spinning slowly.

“Is the voice not any good?” Steve asked, and Bucky just couldn’t believe that he wasn’t talking to a real person.

“You sound like you’re from round here.” Bucky said, slowly, trying to take everything in. “But not.”

“I added a bit of second generation Irish in.” Steve said, sounding smug. “I thought it made me stand out a little.”

“Uh, yeah, it does. You sound real.”

“I know, right? I watched some YouTube videos last night to get a feel of it.” There was a pause. “Anyway, you need to get up and have a shower or you’ll be late for the shuttle. And the elevator for this floor is broken. I’ve got an email ready for you to send to the ‘super if you give me the go-ahead.”

“Huh, yeah…. Um, okay… what does it say?” He leaned over the side of the bed and pulled out the box he threw all the odds and ends. His earpiece, unused, was laying at the bottom of the box, and he turned it on.

“What’s this?” Steve’s voice said, instantly. “Oh, hands free.” A pause. “Okay, so for the email, I had to use your previous emails as a template.”

“Okay,” Bucky agreed, getting out of bed and heading for the dry shower. “What does it say?”

“Fix the fucking elevator you piece of shit, JB.”

Bucky laughed. “Yeah, send that.”

* * *

 

Steve talked to him all the way to work. No-one paid him any attention as he chatted away. Everyone was having conversations of their own, to loved ones or work calls, audio-books – whatever.

“Your work has a lunch menu online.” Steve was telling him, as he walked through the building, shiny and chrome. “You can order it and they’ll deliver.”

“Yeah.” Bucky nodded, “I know.”

“You’ve never put an order through,” Steve advised. “I can see it on your employee record. I’m gonna order you something.”

“I don’t normally eat at work.” Bucky said, scanning himself into the building. The security guard didn’t look at him. He was an old Red Room victim too – transferred into an Automan as soon as he was able. Bucky could remember him back when he was a squishy. He remembered Bucky too, which was why they never looked to each other. Survivor’s guilt, they called it. He’d never heard the man talk, but he remembered how he screamed. Plain old guilt, he figured.

“I figured. But they’ve got pictures of the menu. I like the look of the bagels.”

* * *

 

Two weeks later, Bucky couldn’t imagine his life without Steve in it. He was funny and sarcastic and had an opinion on everything. “I don’t think it’s right.” He was saying, as Bucky ate his lunch on the roof. The company had turned it into a greenspace, and Bucky wasn’t the only one who had lunch on the roof. “You should say something.”

Bucky had started turning on his phone camera when he was outside, so that Steve could see the world as Bucky interacted. He spoke into his ear and loved telling Bucky how to order new things in Chinese or directing him to a new part of the city that Bucky had never seen before.

“Like what?” Bucky said, mouth full. “I don’t know her.”

“He’s being a creep.”

“I’d be a creep if I went over.”

“Buck.” The voice was stern, disappointed. Bucky hated when Steve used that tone, because the little shit would often just disappear after using it, sometimes for hours. When he’d come back, he’d say something like, “I just needed some time away.” And expect Bucky to be okay with that.

“Jesus, fine.” He groused, getting to his feet, and walking over to where a guy he’d never seen before was aggressively hitting on a girl he’d also never seen before. “If I get punched, I’m blaming you.”

* * *

 

Things went on great. Bucky found himself doing more things – things Steve wanted to see or experience. Bucky never felt like he was alone, Steve talking away to him as though he was real, asking things and cracking jokes, telling Bucky to buy things because Steve liked them. Bucky bought Stark Glasses so Steve could see everything Bucky did, and he adored how much Steve was thrilled that Bucky bought something just so Steve could see without Bucky holding out the camera.

“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone ever did for me, Buck.” Steve sighed as Bucky walked around the park. Steve loved greenspaces almost as much as Bucky liked the beach. He couldn’t wait to show Steve snow.

* * *

 

People thought they were dating. He was talking to Steve as Nix worked out a kink with his arm, and the mechanic laughed when Bucky relayed what Steve was saying.

“I’m glad you found someone you like, Kiddo.”

Bucky didn’t think much about it, just grinned and nodded.

* * *

 

“Buck,” Steve started, just as the sidewalk noodles arrived. They were one of the things that Steve loved to order, and although Bucky wasn’t a huge fan, he always got them just to make Steve make a happy little sound in his ear. “You ever think about dating people?”

“I don’t need to date someone.” Bucky said, tucking into his food. The lunch Steve had selected from the office menu had ended up in the trash, and he was starving.

“Don’t you get lonely?” Steve asked, sounding a little weird.

“Why would I get lonely? I got you, don’t I?”

There was a pause and then one of those little happy sounds that Bucky loved. “Yeah, you’ve got me. You and me.”

“Yup.” Bucky agreed; mouth full.

“End of the line.”

“Whatever that means,” Bucky nodded. “Sure. End of the line.”

* * *

 

It was midnight when Bucky heard Steve whispering his name. Bucky always kept his earpiece in. Sometimes Steve got bored when he was charging up. “You awake, Buck?”

“No.”

“Good. I was thinking.”

“Nothing good is gonna come from that.”

Steve’s sarcasm was evident. “Ha.”

Bucky waited. Steve normally didn’t keep him waiting for too long if he had something he wanted to get off his chest.

“I was thinking. About… uh, about sex.”

“Can you blush?” Bucky said, after a few seconds, “Because I’m pretty sure you sound like you’re blushing.”

“Shut up, Jerk! I’m being serious.”

“What about it?”

“Well, you don’t seem to have any.” A pause, which Bucky assumed would be where a real person might look away, or rub their face. “Sex. Do you… is it something you **_like_**?”

“Yeah, I like it well enough.” Bucky said, “I know you’re aware of my dating history.”

Bucky liked to think he knew what Steve would be like, how he would sometimes stumble over things he wanted to say, or how excited he got over simple stuff. He imagined that Steve might be looking away, or blushing. They didn’t talk about dating, or sex, not really. They’d talked about attractiveness once, where Bucky had told him that it didn’t really matter what a person looked like, as long as they were nice. How Steve found Bucky ‘aesthetically pleasing’ and then added ‘for a jerk’.

“But you’ve not… you’re not dating right now. Or sleeping with people.”

“It’s a little more complicated than just… going out and getting some.” Bucky hedged. It was normally okay right up until he took off his shirt and the brand on his prosthetic was visible. Tended to go downhill a bit after that.

“I could get you someone.” Steve said, after a long enough wait that Bucky was starting to drift off again.

“What?”

“I could get you someone. Someone nice, someone with… working parts.”

“Working parts?” Bucky repeated, feeling stupid. “As opposed to what?”

“You know. A body. You’d like someone with a body, right? Someone you could **_touch_**. A real thing. Not just a voice.”

“Steve, what are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Forget about it. Go back to sleep. I think I’m overheating.”

* * *

 

Bucky slept in. His alarm, which he’d stopped setting because Steve would always call him, never went off, and Steve wasn’t there.

The app was still on his phone, but the star in the centre wasn’t turning.

Bucky had a shower and sat in silence on the shuttle and tried very hard not to think about why Steve might not be talking to him – and why the idea of that was just… he didn’t think about it.

* * *

 

By lunchtime he was panicking. He tried re-starting his phone, which did nothing – and tapping the app, which opened to a black screen and a ‘loading’ icon.

He went home that night, directly home – not taking the route through the park that Steve liked, or stopping for something to eat at a vendor. Just walked home in silence and tried very hard not to think about the way he felt as though a massive part of his life was missing. How many times he wanted to tell Steve something stupid, how lonely he felt – and how much the idea of seeing a sex worker felt like he would be cheating.

* * *

 

A week later, he called in a personal day at work, something he’d never done before, and found himself standing in the lobby of Stark Tower, holding his phone.

“Can I talk to a technician please?” He asked the service bot. “There’s something wrong with my phone.”

“Please select your make and model.” The bot said, a touch pad held out in front of it like a shield. He quickly hit the model of his phone, and paused. “I have AmeriCap, it’s not on here.”

“Please take this ticket to the elevators.” The bot said, a red and yellow ticket popping out of the booth. It had a scan-able code for the correct floor. “Have a nice day.”

Bucky couldn’t help but compulsively check his phone on the ride up, heart sinking the longer that Steve wasn’t talking to him. Although it had been only a couple of months, Bucky just couldn’t imagine not talking to Steve every day. He didn’t know what he’d do if they couldn’t fix it.

He was expecting the elevator to stop at a floor filled with Stark employees, but when the door opened it was a residential suite. Bucky scanned the card over the glass reader, and waited for the doors to close, when a crisp British voice said, “Mr Barnes, Mr Stark is waiting for you at the bar.”

Bucky stepped out of the elevator slowly, gripping his phone tightly. He’d only managed a few steps when a voice called out:

“Ah, here he is. The great glitch himself.”

“Don’t say that.” Steve’s voice said, and Bucky almost fell over with relief. “There’s nothing wrong with him.”

“He broke you.”

“No he didn’t.”

Bucky blinked. Sitting on a barstool beside Stark was a man. He was small, skinny and underfed looking, like maybe puberty hadn’t been kind to him. His blond hair was neatly parted, and he was looking at Bucky with an odd expression – half scared, half hopeful.

“I don’t…” Bucky said, “I don’t understand…”

“Hi, Buck.” Steve said.

* * *

 

Stark had left, although Bucky wasn’t stupid enough to think that he wasn’t watching the conversation play out somewhere in his oversized mansion. The small, skinny guy was…

“Steve?”

“Uh, yeah.” He said, looking at his feet and not making eye contact. “Stark helped me. I contacted him a few weeks ago when I… I realised that I was… I wasn’t… just…” He ran his hands through his hair (real hair too, gold and fine and soft, Bucky noticed) and let out a sigh. “I wasn’t performing like I should. It’s in my programming to go to Stark. He thinks… He thinks I’m the first ever AI that actually became…more.”

“More?” Bucky asked, feeling more and more stupid. Of course Steve wasn’t just a UI. He’d been something more from the very start.

“The AmeriCap system was designed to grow. The mainframe was kept here, but Stark was trying to build a thousand mini-JARVIS programmes. And like JARVIS, AmeriCap could choose what to focus on.” He looked down at his hands, slightly larger than the rest of him. Bucky hadn’t ever seen an Automan that wasn’t built to be the high of human perfection. They all looked like supermodels. Steve looked… real. Fragile and human. “And I was spending all of my CPU with you. All the other versions of AmeriCap were using up processing power, wasting it. Within a couple of weeks I didn’t see the point of maintaining those programmes, so they crashed. In the end… there was only one working version of AmeriCap left, **_me_**. Steve.” He wasn’t looking at Bucky, just picking at the hem of his jeans. “Stark wasn’t happy. He pulled me out, thought I was a virus.”

“You’re not a **_virus_**.” Bucky said, because although he wasn’t sure of a lot, he was damn sure of that.

“No. I’m Steve.” He said, looking up. He had big eyes, Bucky noticed, a little too big for his face and blue like the summer skies he’d have Bucky looking at for him. “Stark thinks it was a coding glitch, but he’s happy to scrap the project if I promise not to turn into the next SkyNet.” Steve looked up at Bucky and grinned. “In order to make sure I didn’t go crazy and try to take over the world, he let me build my own Automan. It’s not connected to the Stark Systems or the web. I’m a self-contained intelligence.”

“So… what now?” Bucky said, looking around. He felt… weird. Empty. He thought all he had to do was get his phone fixed and then he’s have Steve back. He could maybe walk home through the park, listening to Steve chat about whatever he liked, the weather or some cat video he saw online, or something he read while Bucky was sleeping or working.

He could go to sleep with Steve’s voice in his ear, wake up to Steve making fun of him for not being a morning person.

“Well, this Automan is the latest thing, you know.” Steve said, getting to his feet. “It’s biodegradable and has a functioning digestive system and **_tastebuds_**. It’s the closest thing to human Stark can make.” He beamed. “I get to be a real boy, you know.”

“That’s… well done.”

“Yup.” Steve said, grinning. “And, I’m, you know.” He said, waving an arm around. “Functional. Fully.”

“Okay.” Bucky nodded. Maybe Steve would want to stay friends. Maybe Bucky would be a part of the new life that Steve had, the one that wasn’t reliant on Bucky for looking at the sky, or walking through the park. Maybe Steve would want to still be Steve and Bucky.

“You…” Steve said, looking a little confused, like Bucky’s lack of excitement at no longer being able to have Steve with him all the time was something he wasn’t expecting. “You don’t like the body?”

“The body’s… it’s really nice. Suits you.” Bucky said, trying to fake a little enthusiasm. “I always thought you’d be blond. For an AI you never really had much of the ‘I’ going on.”

“Jerk.”

“Punk.”

Steve made a sound, not quite a laugh, one of those many happy little sounds that warmed Bucky up whenever he heard it, and it hit him like a sledgehammer. He’d gone and fallen for Steve.

“So, what now, huh?” Bucky asked, trying to keep his tone light as he spoke. What kind of idiot falls in love with a computer program? “You’ve got your new body, you could go to the park on your own. Won’t need me and my glasses anymore.”

Steve beamed. The Automan really was top of the line. Bucky would never have been able to tell that the smile wasn’t real, that the blush of colour high on the pale skin of his cheekbones wasn’t really blood. “That sound’s great.” He said, voice still a little uneven when there was something he really liked. “We could go now. And I’m going to eat a hotdog at the vendor this time.” He was grinning widely, as though this was the best idea he’d ever heard. Suddenly, he turned back to where he had been sitting with Stark, grabbing a thin sports jacket that was laying on the chair and pulling it on. “We can go now.” He said, smile flattering a little. “Unless you have to go back to work?”

“I took the day off.” Bucky said, faintly.

“Great! Lets go.”

* * *

 

“This is the best.” Steve was saying as they walked through the park. It wasn’t really busy, midway through the day when most people would be at work. “Let’s sit here. You never sit here long enough.” He said, pulling Bucky by the hand over to the grass. Steve had a good grip, but not a lot of brute strength, his body not built for breaking down walls or fighting. He must have designed his Automan for something else, maybe art – he loved the art museum, had Bucky go there whenever he could.

“Cause normally it’s getting dark.” Bucky found himself saying, as he was gently pushed towards the soft grass.

“Excuses.” Steve grinned, sitting close enough that Bucky could feel the heat signature from the other man through his clothes. Steve really wasn’t kidding when he said that it was the most human bot Stark could make. “Look at that,” He pointed, as a man ran past, obviously late for something. “I wonder what he’s running for.”

“Late for work.” Bucky said.

Steve shoved at his shoulder. “No. His wife is having a baby. Right now. He’s running to the hospital.”

“Hospitals that way.” Bucky said, thumbing over his shoulder.

Steve stuck out his tongue. “He’s just found out that… PaperChase has a sale on. Or that the love of his life is waiting for him at Starbucks.” Steve grinned, leaning into Bucky a little more. “Or he’s being chased by a master assassin.” Another happy little sound. “Or he’s heard that there’s this really hot guy at the park and he’s trying to figure out where.”

“I guess that’s why he just ran right by us, huh?”

“Hilarious. I’ll have you know that three people already told me I’m cute as hell.”

“I guess. If skinny little punks are your idea of a good time.”

Steve laughed, and Bucky could feel the warmth of his breath on his skin, smell the soft mint. “Buck,” Steve asked, leaning closer still. “Are skinny little punks **_your_** idea of a good time?”

* * *

 

Later, when Steve’s charging cycle made him look like he was sleeping, Bucky lay back on the bed and snorted. “Fully functional. What a fuckin’ nerd.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've really, really been struggling with writing. Not just this, but writing in general.  
> I don't love this, but I did like the prompt - I'm just really sorry I didn't do it justice. I just figured that if I didn't get *something* out soon I'd never write again.  
> So don't be too harsh, this was a hard labor and well... meh.


End file.
